Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Avalanche (AVAX) spikes to enter the top ten, what’s behind the move?

Avalanche (AVAX) defies the broader crypto market sell-off, hitting a solid run of form in which it briefly touched $150 on Binance, a new all-time high.　　Source: AVAXUSDT on TradingView.com　　However, profit-taking saw AVAX give up most of those gains, closing Mondays daily candle at $135. Nonetheless, the Ethereum-rival still entered the top ten by market cap; as a result, displacing Dogecoin in the process.　　But what‘s behind AVAX’s soaring price？　　Deloitte disaster relief deal　　According to Bloomberg, in conjunction with professional services network Deloitte, Avalanche has secured a deal to do with U.S disaster relief funding.　　Deloittes Government Crisis Management Services is built to help governments handle disasters. They chose the Avalanche blockchain to build its Close as You Go service, and this service simplifies disaster reimbursement applications for victims of natural disasters by aggregating and validating documentation.　　The Avalanche blockchain will enable a transparent and cost-effective solution to reduce waste. The process intends to accelerate recovery in areas hit by natural disasters by bringing greater organization of documents and managing operations remotely.　　Commenting on the deal, Jonathan Cheesman, the Head of Institutional and OTC sales at FTX, said it highlights the demand for cheaper, more efficient Ethereum competitors. He added that:　　“Theres a huge wealth effect and

2021-11-24Deep Dive

El Salvador set to create a Bitcoin City with initial funding of $1Billion Bitcoin bonds.

El Salvador - the worlds first country to legalize Bitcoin has further proceeded to create a Bitcoin city with an initial invested fund of $1 Billion Bitcoin. According to the countrys president Bukele, the vision for creating this city is to have a center city within the country to provide both digital and technological education. This move will further expedite the proactive involvement of prominent crypto companies including cryptocurrency exchange like Binance, Kucoin, Bitfinex and Adam Backs Blockstream within the country. A great boon to the Bitcoin present bull run.　　Just last week the popular Crypto friendly nation noted as the first to legalize Bitcoin this year has further proceeded to create a Bitcoin city funded with $1billion Bitcoin bond.　　The decision to create a Bitcoin city was first announced on Saturday night last week by the countrys President Bukele at El Salvador‘s Bitcoin Week conference, which was designed to celebrate Bitcoin’s mainstream adoption in the country and promote all citizens participation in Crypto trading especially those above 18 years as specified by the law.　　As stated by Bukele, the “Bitcoin City” will be located along the Gulf of Fonseca near a volcano. The government plans on locating a power plant by the

2021-11-24Deep Dive

How Blockchain Technology Is Transforming Online Gaming Landscape

The advent of blockchain technology has revolutionized and disrupted many industries from finance to transportation, supply chain to healthcare, and many more. Currently, the gaming industry is feeling the disruptive impact of blockchain technology, and it is so beautiful to see. The gaming industry has come a long way from its humble beginning. If you ever played Super Mario on a 16-bit gaming console, you will understand how the once simple gaming industry has evolved to what we are seeing today.　　With the introduction of blockchain technology in the online gaming landscape, we are beginning to see a complete revitalization of the gaming industry. According to a report by Dappradar, over 800,000 unique active players connected to blockchain-based games in the early third quarter of 2021. The report also highlighted that the number is expected to grow exponentially in the last quarter of the year. Today, there are a number of blockchain-based gaming projects setting the pace in the transformation of online gaming. A good example of these blockchain gaming projects is IQeon.　　What Blockchain Offers To Online Gaming　　Blockchain technology has impacted the online gaming industry in many ways. Here are four of the major ways the online gaming industry has been

2021-11-24Deep Dive

U.S. develops crypto-asset ‘roadmap’; is the Fedcoin on its way?

A joint statement by U.S. financial regulatory agencies on Tuesday recognized the importance of the crypto-asset sector and outlined a plan for agency fast-tracking of policy goals in 2022. Thirteen years after the creation of the first cryptocurrency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced they are working together to develop clearer crypto-asset policy, particularly regarding stablecoins, which may pave the way for a U.S. central bank-backed digital currency.　　 Fast facts　　The agencies jointly stated, “As supervised institutions seek to engage in crypto-asset-related activities, it is important that the agencies provide coordinated and timely clarity where appropriate to promote safety and soundness, consumer protection, and compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including anti-money laundering and illicit finance statutes and rules.”　　Recently, the agencies conducted what they called “policy sprints” to find a common vocabulary and understanding for crypto concepts, identify risks, clarify where existing laws govern and where further clarity is necessary.　　The agencies further outlined a roadmap of areas where the government will work to issue further clarification in 2022, including crypto assets custody services, loan collateralization and the issuance and distribution of stablecoins.　　The joint statement

2021-11-24Deep Dive

Cryptocurrency investments are rising, but so are scams

While the popularity of cryptocurrency has exploded over the last decade, so has the prevalence of investment scams.　　Cryptocurrency (crypto) is a computer-based digital currency that acts as a monetary system which can be exchanged for goods and services.　　Exchanges with crypto are normally handled online between private parties, with no direct oversight.　　“Typically, when we have our banking account we can look at what our account transactions are, but that‘s being monitored by our lender,” WI Bureau of Consumer Protection Director Michael Domke said. “With cryptocurrency, all of this is stored on what’s called a ledger, and theres a level of cryptography that basically encodes both the sender, the receiver, and the actual transaction information.”　　Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency back in 2009, but Division of Securities Director for the WI Department of Financial Institutions Robin Jacobs says there are now more than 7,000 in existence.　　The rise in the amount of cryptocurrency has coincided with a substantial increase in value.　　“As of November 2021, there were over 18.8 million Bitcoin in circulation, with a total market value of about $1.2 trillion,” Jacobs detailed.　　Despite its popularity, Jacobs says cryptocurrency is a volatile system due to its lack of clear regulation.　　“The IRS taxes Bitcoin as property,

2021-11-24Deep Dive

US Banking Regulators to Focus on Stablecoins, Crypto Custody in 2022

Earlier this year, the three top U.S. banking regulators—the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)—finished several “policy sprints” designed to ready the country for crypto banking regulations.　　Now, the agencies are ready to stretch their legs and run a marathon.　　In a joint statement today, the Fed, FDIC, and OCC set an ambitious agenda for 2022 related to cryptocurrency, with issues such as stablecoin issuance by banks and financial institutions taking custody of crypto assets set to be decided.　　This years sprints sought to solidify vocabulary, explore risks, identify existing regulations, and reveal gaps. As part of that effort, the agencies touched upon banks taking custody of crypto for clients, helping them buy or sell it, using digital assets as collateral for loans, and allowing stablecoins for payments.　　But the exercise intentionally left more questions than answers, primary among them: Which of these activities should we allow or encourage？　　Theres little certainty on where these conversations will lead. Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu hit the pause button on crypto-friendly regulations set by his predecessor, Brian Brooks, who took the government job in between executive stints with crypto exchanges Coinbase and Binance

2021-11-24Deep Dive

IOHK announces Cardano (ADA) block size increase as it moves to ‘scaling’ phase

Cardano (ADA) is heading into the Basho phase, according to IOHK, as the developer team announced upcoming gradual adjustments, focused on “optimization, scaling, and network growth.”　　According to the announcement, IOHK already submitted two initial changes, namely Cardanos block size increase and increase of Plutus script memory units per transaction.Increasing block size by 12,5%　　Cardano‘s developers opted for a methodical approach to changes in the network’s parameterization, claiming that “slow and steady wins the race.” 　　“A 12,5% increase is sizable, but not too big. It leaves room for further expansion, and allows stake pool operators (SPOs) to adjust to the increased demands,” explained IOHK, as the developer team announced Cardanos block size is set to increase by 8KB to 72KB.　　A larger block size implies fitting more transactions into a single block, which in the end means processing more transactions per second.　　Increasing Cardanos block size comes into play as the network developers anticipate a rise in traffic, due to new dapps rolling out.　　IOHK pointed out that currently there are “well over 2 million Cardano wallets in use and traffic has grown by over 20 times in a year.”Increasing Plutus memory limits by 12.5%　　Besides block size, Cardanos developers will be increasing Plutus script memory

2021-11-24Deep Dive

Fraudsters posing as Michael Saylor strip people of over $4 million in Bitcoin

A few days ago, Elliptic, a blockchain analytic firm, reported that unsuspecting individuals had cumulatively lost over $10 billion to crypto frauds and scams.　　Today, a Bitcoin user has now added to that figure after losing 3 BTC (the equivalent of $179,000) to an impersonator of MicroStrategys chief executive officer Michael Saylor, in what appears to be a giveaway scam.Fraudster impersonates Michael Saylor　　According to Whale Alert, the said scam took place on November 21, with the fraudster using the website “mstrategy.io/bit” to parade himself as the pro-Bitcoin CEO of the firm. He then proceeded to request visitors of the site to send some Bitcoin to a designated address with the promise of doubling the amount for them. 　　“Michael Saylor believes that Blockchain and Bitcoin will make the world fairer. To speed up the process of cryptocurrency mass adoption, We decided to run 5 000 BTC giveaway,” the scam site reads.　　As of press time, the scammers address has received over 80 BTC that are cumulatively worth over $4.5 million from 50 transactions. Available data also shows that the fraudster has transferred 72 BTC out of the wallet, leaving the current value of the address at 10 BTC ($562,335.38).Scam projects tend to impersonate

2021-11-24Deep Dive

Fraudsters posing as Michael Saylor strip people of over $4 million in Bitcoin

2021-11-24Deep Dive

6 things to do if you encounter a crypto scam or fraud

Crypto scams are becoming increasingly hard to spot. With scammers using glossy websites and spoofed endorsements, even sharp investors can get caught out when trying to invest.　　Even if you haven‘t been a victim, but you know about crime or fraud involving crypto, you should still report it as you could earn you a whistleblower award for doing so. Here are the six things to do if you think you’ve witnessed crypto crime. (If its a major fraud, skip straight to number 6). 1. Preserve your records 　　When reporting fraud, you may need to provide records of your transactions and communications. If you dont preserve your records, it could mean that the authorities will not take you seriously, and you may miss out on having funds returned to you if you were a victim of the fraud. Preserving records means more than simply not deleting your emails and text messages.　　In addition to having these on your mobile device, you should also make copies and have them stored in the cloud in case anything happens to your device. The same goes for transaction records. These might be visible in an online account, but you can never be sure when the company will

2021-11-24Deep Dive

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